USJ-R, USLS spikers down foes, stay alive

University of San Jose-Recoletos toughened up on its net defense in the last two sets and completed a tough but inspiring 20-25, 25-15, 24-26, 25-17. 15-10 victory over Far Eastern U yesterday to keep its semifinal hopes alive in the Shakey’s V-League Season 5 at The Arena in San Juan.

Genie Sabas came through with four blocks and finished with 16 points while Juliet Mae Marikit had three defensive gems for a 13-point production as the Lady Jaguars posted their second win in three games to join the idle Lyceum Pirates in second heading into the final stretch of the single round-robin quarterfinal phase.

“We were able to execute our set plays and we succeeded in neutralizing (Maica) Morada and (Shaira) Gonzalez through our blocking in the last two sets,” said Lady Jaguars mentor Grace Antigua in Filipino.

The Cebuanos, backstopped by guest player Mechell Matuguina, came out strong in the fourth set to force a decider, where they raced to a 7-1 lead then thwarted the reigning UAAP champions’ fightback at 8-10 with their set plays and solid defense upfront.

Morada and Gonzalez each had 20 points while Mary Rose Cabanag had 10 points for the Tams, who slid to 1-2 in a tie with University of St. La Salle-Bacolod, which also stayed alive with a 25-22, 25-18, 25-16 rout of St. Benilde in the first game.

Kay Aplasca came away with an impressive six-block performance for 15 points while Je-an Ledesma, Jade Aplasca and Sheryl Silva combined for 30 points for USLS, now back in the semis race after a shaky start in the tournament sponsored by Shakey’s Pizza and organized by Sports Vision.

“We played a bit tight in the first two sets. But this is a morale booster for us heading to our last two matches. At least, we still have a chance for the last semis berth,” said USLS coach Roger Banzuela.

To gain a shot at the last semis seat, however, USLS will need to sweep its last two games against Lyceum and Univ. of San Jose-Recoletos to avail itself of the league’s 3-of-5 incentive.